Sustainable chord

[bobbied]

I just bought a WK-240 to replace my older Casio which quit providing chords. I also need a midi keyboard to use Songwriter.

 

On my old keyboard there was an option to play a one finger chord and the keyboard would continue to play that chord until you played a different note to produce a new chord. No rhythm, no embelishments, no percussion, just a plain chord like you would get from an organ if you held down the notes of the chord. You could even remove your finger and the chord would continue to play until you either changed it or hit "stop".

 

I can't make this one do that, at least I haven't figured it out yet. Can anyone tell me if this keyboard will do that and how, or do I just need to return the keyboard and find something different?

 

Thanks

[Display Name]

Hello and welcome to the Casio Forums. I think you are looking for the Casio Chord function --- I don't think that is available on the the WK-240. It does however, have a great learning system including a chord book which will show you the chords. Why not take the time to learn to play the chords instead of relying on a keyboard to play them? Sounds like a great opportunity to take your playing to the next level! 

[bobbied]

Thanks Scott.  I appreciate the information. I have a degree in music - voice, not keyboard- and can play some, but I also have severe arthritis in my hands, especially the left one that makes it difficult to play. I just like to play for myself and the dog, especially around Christmas and enjoy using the built in chords.

 

Do you know of a Casio keyboard that has both the chord function I'm looking for and the midi function? I don't need 600+ sounds, but need the midi to create sheet music for my Sweet Adeline's quartet.

 

Thanks,

Bobbie

[- T -]

Bobbie

 

Your WK-240 DOES SUPPORT what you want to do.  See Pages 39-40 of the manual for selecting the various chord fingering modes.  You will want to select the CASIO CHORD (CC) fingering mode as it allows simplified fingerings.  See the illustrations on these pages for the different fingering combinations that make the various types of chords.  All Casio CTK/WK keyboards have always supported this feature in some fashion.  It is a major part of what they are all about.  The older boards did it with a discrete switch on the front panel, while the newer units do it through menu selections.  If you just want steady chords without a rhythm, you will need to press the ACCOMP button to turn Auto Accompaniment on, but do not press the START/STOP or SYNCHRO buttons which will turn the rhythm on.  This also allows use of the Auto Harmonize feature for right hand melody notes.

 

Then, see Pages 59-60 for connecting the "USB" port on the back of the WK-240 to a USB port on your computer with a standard "printer type" USB cable.  You will do your MIDI work over this cable.  The USB port on the WK-240 is what is known as "Class Compliant", meaning that it uses the "drivers" that are already built-in to Windows (since XP Service Pack 2) and MAC-OS (recent versions) and does not require the download and installation of extra drivers.  In other words, it is truly "Plug and play".  Your Songwriter software should recognize this connection, and you should be able to do anything with this connection that you used to do with the old 5-pin-DIN MIDI connected to a PC.  Pages 59-60 of the manual will also work you through the menus for setting up the WK-240 for using this connection.

 

Best of luck and enjoy that new WK-240 ! ! !

[Display Name]

Thanks Ted! I'm not as familiar with WK line as I am with the XW and PX line. I am getting a LK model soon though! 

[- T -]

No problem, Scott.  I've been a CTK/WK user for many years now.  Just wanted to let Bobbie know that the WK-240 could/would do the job.

 

Enjoy the LK when you get it !